FAQ

Gevorg Avetisjan originally left war-torn Armenia for Prague. Through a series of coincidences, he ended up in northern Moravia and decided to stay there. In 20 years, he built a honey empire that is unrivalled in the world and turned Frýdek-Místek into, as he likes to say, the “honey capital of the world.”

The history of MARLENKA began in 2003 when Gevorg asked his sister to bake a honey cake according to their old family recipe so that he could try selling it. From humble beginnings, the business took off and has been growing ever since. The company started in a tiny rented building with just one employee; since then, it has relocated several times, ending up at its current premises, built on a greenfield site from 2008–2009.

Today, the company has almost 370 employees and exports its products to 55 countries. Its annual turnover is an impressive CZK 850 million, and the company makes more than 12.5 million products a year, of which almost 3.5 million are cakes. One of its unique features is its consumption of honey, which truly makes Frýdek-Místek the world’s capital of honey – almost 200 tonnes a year.

The products of MARLENKA international s.r.o. use very high-quality margarine.

The margarine supplier holds the IFS food quality and safety certificate, it is regularly audited by Marlenka international s.r.o., and each delivery is carefully inspected.

One of the ingredients of the margarine is palm oil.

Technological importance

Palm oil is used for its favourable technological properties. It is a fat that is naturally solid and does not need to be artificially solidified by the process of hydrogenation.

Environment

The margarine supplier declares (RSPO certificate) that the palm oil comes from renewable sources and does not contribute to the destruction of rainforests.

For more information about the certificate, see https://www.rspo.org

We are the largest processor of honey in the Czech Republic, consuming almost 200 tonnes of it every year. We buy carefully selected honey from Slovakia. Therefore, only high-quality honey is used in our products.

We do not currently make any products with reduced sugar content or alternative sweeteners.

Our company understands the importance of a gluten-free diet and offers gluten-free products for those with coeliac disease. Currently, our product portfolio includes the following gluten-free variants: MARLENKA® Classic Honey Cake (large and small) and MARLENKA® Classic Honey Nuggets. In 2023, we launched our latest innovation – the MARLENKA® Premium Almond Honey Cake.

We do not currently make lactose-free products. Producing them would require building a separate production line to avoid the risk of contamination, which our current capacity unfortunately does not allow.

MARLENKA Honey Cakes and desserts are made by a team of experienced and hard-working people led by the best confectioners. Even though we continuously strive to make their everyday work easier and increase the share of automation, their craftsmanship and manual work remain irreplaceable. Most of our products are made with love and craftsmanship, and it shows.

The Marlenka honey cake is legendary. Its roots go deep into history. In its place of origin, faraway Armenia, it has been made since time immemorial, and each family had its own distinct recipe. The unique recipe of the Avetisjan family has been passed down from one generation to the next. Thanks to this, it has survived to this day, and the Honey Cake is now enjoyed by people in more than 55 countries. The recipe is our secret, but we can share that it’s based on premium ingredients including high-quality honey and walnuts.

All our products have an unusually long shelf life. Because we use the best ingredients and a unique system of packaging in a protective atmosphere, the cakes can be stored for up to eight months when refrigerated. In temperatures under -18°C, they can last for almost two years.

But what makes them truly special is their shelf life at room temperature (2–24°C), which is where their unique characteristics become clear: 70 days. Most of our products do not contain any preservatives.

The MARLENKA brand includes a wide range of products – besides the well-known Honey Cakes, there are also Honey Nuggets, Snacks, PREMIUM Cakes, Pachlava, Honey Cigars, Honey Rolls and Eclairs.
Our brand also carries high-quality honey, Honey Beer, MARLENKA Mead and MARLENKA Lemonade. We are now offering a gift pack of MARLENKA chocolates and two variations of MARLENKA cream yoghurt.

You can find the full range here: https://www.marlenka.cz/en/products